Apparently William Gallas has problems putting his contact lens on because the left eye is still so swollen from the collision with Arshavin’s head in the Standard Liege game.
Wenger was not overly optimistic about his chances. “I cannot say that William Gallas will play, unfortunately. The ankle should be alright but the eye is still very, very, very swollen.
If Gallas is not ready, then we might have to trot out Silvestre which is a very unappetizing thought. One can almost hear Didier Drogba salivating at the prospect.
Arseblog’s suggestion is to consider shifting Song to center back and use Denilson to hold midfield. Song has seen duty as a center back before, so he should be comfortable pairing Vermaelen. One would have preferred Diaby in place of Denilson for the holding role should Wenger explore that route but Diaby happens to be one of the 8 Arsenal injuries.
If we win the match, then the gap with Chelsea is narrowed to five. Win the extra game in hand, it cuts down to two. Lose and you can only hope to close to five again. So this is as important a match as it gets.
Chelsea are relatively healthy with Frank Lampard ready to play on Sunday. Carlo Ancelotti’s dilemma is the opposite of Wenger, he has so many options, he does not know who to play.
‘I think I have five midfielders in very good condition, Ballack, Lampard, Essien, Mikel and Malouda, and I have to put in the pitch only three players. It will be difficult for me,’ Ancelotti said.